Eber Mars or Paris Eiffel Rive Gauche?
 

Please help:

Eber Mars, 117 Ave de la Bourdonnais, 75007
double for 80 or 95 euro

Paris Eiffel Rive Gauche, 6 Rue du Gros Callou, 75007
double for 95 euro

which hotel to choose? there no photos of Eber Mars anywhere. This hotel has been remodeled recently - has anyone been inside?

Is it a good/convient area to stay at to get to tourist attractions?

PS All the hotels that are highly recommended are already booked. I am booking for mid september

Thank You

I don't know these hotels..just by name, I heard of them...So I can't really pronounce myself on them.
In the same area, I know the Hotel Saint Dominique, one of my favourite hotel in Paris..it's a 2 star hotel not far away fromt he Eiffel Tower and from the Champs Elysees..Maybe look at this hotel if you don't find enough information on the others. This hotel has a website: www.saintdominique.com.
Bye..;

Morganne,

Thank you for your suggestion, but as I mentioned the poplular hotels are fully booked, and it includes saintdominique.

At least, can you tell is it (7th andr) convinient area to stay at in order to get to the tourist attractions or center?

Hi Manika,
We've stayed at Paris Eiffel Rive Gauche. It was pretty basic. Probably wouldn't stay there again.
We love the 7th as an area to stay in as its a residential area and fairly quiet. It may not be the handiest for tourist attractions apart from the Eiffel Tower. The Metro system is so convenient though and not a problem.
Enjoy your trip.

Manika, that area is fine -- nice and I'd say it is convenient for a tourist stay.

Here are the names of a few other budget hotels in that area which are not as wellknown or listed in guidebooks, and so might have more vacancies:

Hotel Prince
http://www.hotel-paris-prince.com
HOtel de l'Empereur
www.hotelempereur.com
Hotel de Turenne
on www.france-hotel-guide.com and www.123france.com
Hotel Valadon
www.hotelvaladon.com
Hotel de France
www.hoteldefrance.com

Kiwigirl and Christina,

Thank You for you advice.

Christina,

the hotels you mentioned are fully booked. My choice in 7th and. is still:
1. Eber Mars at 95 euro (no reviews whatsoever),
2. Paix (19 rue du Gros - Calloiu) at 95 euro,
3. Paris Eiffel Rive Gauche (6 rue du Gros - Calloiu) at 95 euro
4. Serre (24 Rue Cler) at 110 euro

can't decide : (((

I don't have time at this moment to find reviews, but I'm 90% sure the last 3 have 'mixed' reviews. The Eber Mars has just been renovated by the owner of Eber Monceau, which gets good reviews. The only risk there is if there are any 'opening' kinks not yet worked out.

Did you look at any reviews for these hotels on www.tripadvisor.com and www.venere.com?

Manika, I posted on the Hotel Eber Mars a short while back.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...back&fid=2

Manika i am unskilled in posting URLs. In the one posted above ,the pertinent post is #45.

Laidback is trying to point you to this feedback on Eber Mars:

" Author: Laidback Date: 07/18/2004, 09:06 pm
Message: Miss Emery,

I know the location of the Hotel Eber Mars, since it is only a couple of blocks from the apt. we use. It is on a lovely, tree-lined blvd. and is very close to the excellent transportation hub of Place de l'Ecole Militaire served by the #8 metro as well as bus#'s 28,80,82,87, and 92. I doubt that many people can tell you about the present condition, as it has recently been renovated...every time we walked by there was old carpet and shabby furniture piled up to be hauled away. The area is blessed with many restaurants of all categories; The Michelin Red Guide lists nearly as many "Bib Gourmands"(quality/price rapport) in the 7th as the preceding 6 arrondissements combined. Through the years we have stayed in the 1st,5th, 6th, and 13th, and revelled in them all, so don't get too hung up on the arrondissement as long as it is fairly central and is close to bus/metro lines. Paris is a city of neighborhoods, each having their distinctive charm. We have gravitated to staying in the 7th, but visit most of the others each trip. Relax and enjoy it."

Laidback,

Thank you - I did read your post before asking for a new review. But you weren't inside after restoration, and there are no comments anywhere. : ((

Travelnut,

Yes, I do read reviews on tripadvisor for the hotels that I am asking about -and that is exactly why I can't decide. Eber Mars has no review, and the other ones mixed.
(thank you for copying Laidback's comments - but I did read them) : ))

OK. Here is a review of Eber Mars. despite the renovation, the double room for 95 euros that we got isn't something to be happy about. Room itself is larger than the one for 80 euros. The carpet is very old, furniture old and shabby, the bathroom really tiny.
Very questionable what renovation took place. : ((( Area is nice of course.

That is a total bummer. Do you know if there is ongoing renovation, ie. they stuck you in a yet-to-be renovated room? Or did it just look like the lobby area had been done? or <i>anywhere</i> at all?

Other than the looks, was it a quiet location or was there a lot of traffic noise? It's no consolation that Eiffel RG has posts that complain about 'interior noise' and an 'awful breakfast'.

Thanks for following up.

Manika - We were just at this hotel 2 days ago. I WOULD NOT STAY THERE. Let me explain further:

The 80 Euros room is for a double with a yard view (as they call it) whereas the 95 Euros is for the same room with a street view. We took the Yard view since it was only for 1 night (the last night) and we weren't planning on spending too much time in the hotel.

The hotel is located about 5 minutes from the eiffel tower. There is a convenient grocery store 2 doors down to get water, snacks, etc. It is definitely a nice and safe area. The hotel however, is terrible. The Lobby is nice and clean, and the guy at the reception desk was nice - so we booked it, because it was a last minute choice.

As we get our keys, he tells us we are on the 5th floor and the elevator only takes 1 person at a time. That doesn't mean 1 person with luggage. That means 1 PERSON. IT was ridiculous - this elevator was the size of a coffin. I am a small framed woman so it was OK. But by NO MEANS, can a larger person fir in this lift. So I go up and my husband sent 1 suitcase at a time, as took them off on the 5th floor. The elevator is very very very slow. So about 20 minutes later, we are finally all up on the 5th floor with our belongings.

we open the door, and the room is TINY! I know European rooms are small (we had already stayed in 7 hotels prior to this one on the trip) - but this one was THE SMALLEST! It was very very dirty. A very dirty and VERY uncomfortable bed. I emphasize the uncomfortable bed because I had a backache the next day. The bathroom is split into one door with the toilet. You basicaly have to walk into this room sideways and cannot turn - just sit - do your business - come out and then flush. The door has glass so whoever you are staying with (in my case, my husband so no big deal) can see you use the facilities. Then you go to the other door which has the sink and standing shower. Note: As you enter the shower, guaranteed you brush up against the very dirsty sink because there is NO room. The shower had a basty moldy shower curtain and moldy tiles. Towels are disgusting, luckily we had our own.

And that is about all there is to the room. I would say the room was about 6 ft by 8 ft.

Then theres more - so when it came time to check out - my husband wanted to get rid of his euros and then pay the remainder on his credit card. They gave him a hassel for about 30 minutes about how it has to be ALL Cash or ALL Credit. What difference does it make? It is money. They were extremely Rude, Abnoxious, and Unhelpful - on the contrary to how they were when we were booking the hotel.

We did peak into an open 95 euro room that was being cleaned. It was the same - very dirty small and stinky.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY HERE!

WHOOPS - Sorry I didn't even say which hotel - my review was for EBER MARS!

An acquaintance said he stayed at Hotel de la Paix as a last minute choice. It was basic but allright and certainly not like Hotel Eber Mars.

BTW, I think Rick Steves mentions Hotel la Serre but I sort of recall it wasn't so favorable-something about the staff. I'm not quite certain so maybe someone else can add to this.

: ((( hawaiihoneymoon,

I wish that someone replied about this hotel earlier. now it is almost postfactum. It is not me who stayed there, but actually my parents. They arrived on 9/20 for 5 nights!!! : (( They got last room at 95 euros.
They didn't tell me that it is dirty. Only said exactly what you did about the tiny elevator, old shabby furniture, and very tiny bathroom. I am trying to convince them to move ( I don't know if it is possible actually). They said owner is nice. But who cares about the owner - I care about the room.

Travelnut,

My parents room is facing the street and they said during the night it is fine, not noisy. The lobby is nice - maybe it is the only thing that was renovated. I am so bumped out - it is not that I had a lot of choice for the dates of travel (everything highly recommended was already booked) but still 3 hotels had availability.
The area itself is nice.

I can't believe noone replied earlier about this place - Eber Mars : ((. Basically, I was the first to write a brief review, and hawaiihoneymoon gave a full description.

Unfortunately, someone has to be 'the first' and it didn't turn out to be a good thing...

Manika - I'm Sorry! :( Trust me, If I knew earlier, I would've saved myself the trouble of staying there! :) In any case, if they can still get out of Eber Mars - I do recommend Hotel Muguet. It is in the same price range and only 5 minutes on foot. It is also pretty small, but definitely much much cleaner. Also, I recommend they walk down Rue Cler (which is right around the corner from Eber Mars and Hotel Muguet) and go to the Creparie there. We had a breakfast Savory Crepe there every morning! It was delicious! Best crepes we had in Paris - and trust me we tried a bunch of different ones!

Hopefully now, people will be aware of what they are getting into before the book at Eber Mars.

My husband and I just returned from a trip to Paris and we stayed at the Hotel Eber Mars. I must say that we had a marvelous experience at this hotel. The staff was friendly and helpful. The room was very clean, including the pure white towels. Yes, this is an old hotel. If the couple, hawaiihoneymoon, wanted a larger place to stay, they should have stayed at a big chain hotel. If you want something with charm, then this hotel has that. Yes, the elevator is very small, but this is the case in many older hotels in Paris. My husband fit just fine in this elevator and he is not a small person. He took both of our pieces of luggage and himself on the elevator just fine. Also, the elevator is not slow. In fact, it is very fast. If hawaiihoneymoon took 20 minutes to get their luggage up to the 5th floor, they must have had numerous pieces! We were on the 6th floor and it only took us about 5 minutes to get our luggage and both of us to our room. Our room was not large,but large enough. We were hardly there anyway. The bathroom had a shower and toilet. It was plenty spacious for the two of us. The location was safe and very convenient. I talked with the owner and he was very disturbed about the negative review of the hotel. He has spent a great deal of money rennovating this building and there is still more to be done. I think it is a very good bargain in a very good neighborhood, and we looked at other hotels in other neighborhoods while we were there. I would have no problem staying at Eber Mars again. Maybe hawaiihoneymoon is just pissed off because the hotel would not accept all their coin.

We want to underline the fact that the Eber Mars Hotel is one of the best small inexpensive hotels in Paris. There are several reasons why: price, location, cleanliness, great breakfast, friendliness of the owner and staff. Yes, it is not a new hotel but the price is extremely competitive for the neighborhood. This is one of the most beautiful and charming neighborhoods of Paris. It is also very practical for getting either by bus or metro to other parts of Paris. The owner is very dedicated to making this hotel user friendly especially for americans. He has made great changes and admits that there is still more to do. I stay there regularly - at least once a month and have never had a problem with the room not being clean. I do recommend a room off the street. However, the rooms on the street have windows that are double thick so the street noise is minimal.
The breakfast is always delicious, good hot coffee, fresh croissants and bread, hand squeezed orange juice and yoghurt.
I often come and go at odd hours but I am always greeted with a smile.
We do believe that the negative comments that have appeared recently about the hotel are exagerated and want to reassure all that are interested in finding a small convenient and friendly hotel in Paris that the Hotel Eber Mars is a very good choice.

Clee2, I don't know anything about this hotel but if you stay there once every month my guess is that you are a European businessperson who provides repeat business. It's possible you get better rooms than a tourist just passing through.

Just wanted to point out that both positive reviews above are somewhat suspect since neither poster posted before or since.

I have to say that the owner is indeed wonderful and was helpful with directions. But we are not reviewing owners or staff, the review was about the room itself. Yes, the owner stated that portion of the hotel is renovated and he is still in the process. He bought this property recently. The room we stayed at had a new mattress. But the furniture and carpet certainly need to go.